Tire cover



March 1, 1938. A ,p FERGUESON 2,109,666

TIRE COVER Original Filed Sept. 8, 1932 def/we 1? E's'eeuEso/v.

Patented Mar. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COVER igan Originalapplication September 8, 1932, Serial No. 632,101. Patent No. 2,085,213,dated June Divided and this application September 25, 1936, Serial No.102,506

8 Claims.

This invention relates to tire covers and more particularly to a sparetire cover of the sectional type.

This is a division of my copending application for Tire cover, SerialNo. 632,101, filed September 8, 1932, and patented June 29, 1937, No.2,085,213.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improvedspare tire cover of the sectional type which is economical tomanufacture and which is rugged and reliable in use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a shove down tirecover such as a hood embodying a sectional tread covering member whichmay be employed alone or in cooperation with a side wall covering memberor plate.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel tire covercomprising a plurality of sec tions, one of which serves to clamp itselfand the other or others on the spare tire.

Another and further object of this invention is to provide a sectionaltire cover, the sections of which are pivotally connected to each other.

A further object of this invention resides in the provision of a sparetire cover formed in sections arranged to be automatically interlockedwhen applied in tire covering position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cover of the characterabove referred to which will adapt itself to tires of various sizes.

In accordance with the teachings of my invention, one of the principalfeatures includes a resilient rim portion which is substantially arcuatein form and of sufficient length to extend throughout more than 180 whenin tire covering position. A second and shorter section, which may ormay not be resilient, is pivoted intermediate its end to one end of thefirst section and is of a curvature substantially corresponding to thatof the tread of a spare tire to be covered. The parts are placed overthe tread of the tire substantially at a medium plane of the tread ofthe tire. The first section is then pressed or shoved onto the treaduntil it is in substantially intimate embracing relation thereto, thesecond section being in part overlapped and engaged by the adjacent endportion of the first section, said first section serving to hold bothsections firmly above the tread. If desired, a section similar to thesecond section above described may be connected to the opposite end ofthe first section. When used with a plate for covering the side wall ofthe tire, the plate is arranged to have a major portion of its outeredge overlapped by the section of the cover. When two auxiliary sectionsare used in conjunction with the main section above described, such forexample as when the tire cover is used in conjunction with a spare tirewhich is mounted at the rear of a vehicle. the free ends of theauxiliary section are preferably arranged to overlap each other so thatthey may be clamped together at their free ends. The free ends of acover such as that just referred to are preferably arranged to beadjusted so that the sectional cover is susceptible of being used inconjunction with spare tires of various sizes.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my inventionare set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My inventionitself, however, both as to its organization and manner of construction,together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best beunderstood by reference to the following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view illustrating one embodiment of myinvention, the spare tire cover being shown in its unattached relationto the spare tire;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but shows the spare tire coverin its attached position on the tire;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the manner inwhich the free ends of the auxiliary sections of a spare tire cover maybe clamped together;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view partly in crosssection of the clamping means illustrated in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is-a fragmentary view illustrating the hinge connection betweenthe auxiliary sections and the main section of the tire cover.

Referring now to the drawing, the specific embodiment of my inventionillustrated therein comprises a multisectional spare tire cover of thetype which 'is particularly applicable for spare tires which are mountedon the rear of vehicles or which are mounted on the side of vehicleswithout the cooperation of a fender well or the like. Themulti-sectional tire cover illustrated in the drawing includes a mainsection I and two auxiliary sections 2 and 3. The auxiliary sections 2and 3 are hinged intermediate their ends at 4 and 5 to opposite ends 6and I of main section I. The ends 6 and l of main section lare formedwith bulge 8a for receiving 7 the hinge hardware 8b. The ends of section"I have their extremities flared adjacent the bulge to allow asubstantial degree of relative angular movement between the auxiliarysections 2 and 3 and the main section I, it being understood that theextremities serve as a stop to limit this degree of angular movement. Itwill be seen upon a close inspection of the drawing that auxiliarysections 2 and 3 nest Within main section I.

The main section I of the tire cover comprises a resilient andpreferably metallic arcuate section which is arranged to cover more thanhalf of the tire when in proper tire protecting position, as shown inFigure 2. Sections 2 and 3 may or may not be resilient and arepreferably arranged so that they may conform to various sizes of tires.Main section I is preferably formed with a radius slightly less thanthat of the smallest tire for which it is adapted to cover. Thus sectionI will tightly embrace the tire tread and also press sections 2 and 3inwardly, thereby functioning to resiliently resist removal from thetire.

As shown in the drawing, a side plate 8 is used in conjunction with thetire cover for covering the side wall of a tire (not shown) which iscarried on spare wheel 9.

Sections 2 and 3 are of such length that when they are arranged 'asshown in Figure 2, the entire tread covering portion which includes mainsection I and auxiliary sections 2 and 3 embrace in excess of 360, thefree ends of sections 2 and 3 overlapping, as shown in Figures 2, 3, and4. The free end IIJ of section 3 carries a threaded stud II which ispreferably permanently fastened thereto, and a wing nut 52 iscarried onstud II. Stud II, preferably is enlarged at its free end I3 to preventseparation of wing nut I2 therefrom. The cooperating end 54 of section 2is formed with a substantially centrally located slot I5 for receivingstud II, the length of slot I5 being of sufficient extent to allow theends I G and I4 to be placed in proper relation to each other foraccommodating tires of various sizes before the nut I2 is rotated toclamp the ends I and I4 together.

The extremity I6 of end I4 is curved away from the center of the coverin a manner corresponding with the extremities 6 and I of main section Iin order to continue the ornamental scheme of the cover. Curvedextremity I 6 also serves the useful function of providing an abutmentfor preventing accidental separation ofends I 0 and I4 should the nut I2become loosened. The flaring of end I6 performs the still furtherfunction of allowing ends It} and I4 to automatically overlap uponcoming together as the tread covering member is applied into coveringrelation to the tire. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art,once nut I2 is tightened, rattling between the various parts of the tirecover is prevented.

The manner of assembling the multi-sectional tire cover on a spare tirewill now be described. Sectional parts I, 2, and 3 are arranged in themedium plane of the tire with, the ends I9 and Hi spaced apart adistance equal to or slightly in excess of the diameterof the tread ofthe tire. The tread covering member is thereupon moved in its own planetowards the tire, the center of the section I moving'in an imaginaryline connecting the same with the center of the tire. As this movementis continued, the ends 6 and I engage the tire and act as pivots aboutwhich the remaining of the sections 2 and 3 swing until the parts arearranged as shown in Figure 1. As section I is thereafter continued inits movement toward the center of the tire, the ends of this section arecammed outwardly by the tire until they move beyond diametricallyopposite lateral tire tread portion from whence they thereafter movetoward each other to occupy the position shown in Figure 2. During thislatter movement, sections 2 and 3 are held adjacent the tread of thetire by virtue of the spring pressure of the ends of section I, and asthe ends I0 and I4 come together, the flared part or extremity I6permits the end I4 to slide over the end III, the stud II slipping intoslot I of end I4. Nut I2 is tightened to hold the parts againstrattling.

In the event that side plate 8 is also used, the latter is easily placedagainst the outer side wall of the tire and held there until the partsare positioned as shown in Figure 1, after which the. plate 8 may bereleased, since part of the tread covering member will hold the sideplate in place without additions.

From the above description, it will be seen that I have provided anextraordinarily simple and yet effective multi-sectional tire cover ofthe type which is adapted to completely cover the tread of a tire. Thetire cover may be assembled on the tire with a minimum amount of eifort,and yet after the tire cover is in its proper position, it is free fromrattling or other objectionable vibration.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, it will ofcourse be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto, sincemany modifications may be made, and I therefore contemplate by theappended claims to cover all such modifications that fall within thetrue spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

l. A shove-down sectional tire cover coniprising a pair of sections forcovering the tread of a spare tire, a third section pivoted to the firstsections intermediate the ends thereof to thereby form a unitarystructure, the third section being resilient and having a normaldiameter which is less than, that of the tread of the spare tire, andbeing of such length that, when in proper tread covering position, itsubtends an angle in excess of 180, whereby to resiliently hold itselfand the other sections in embracing relation to the tread of the tire.

2. A shove-down sectional tire cover comprising a pair of sections forcovering the tread of a spare tire, a third section pivoted to the firstsections to thereby form a unitary structure, the third section beingresilient and having a normal diameter which is less than that of thetread of the spare tire, and being of such length that, when in propertread covering position, it subtends an angle in excess of 180, wherebyto resiliently hug the tread of the tire, the ends of the other sectionsbeing arranged to overlap when the cover is in proper tire protectingposition, and means associated with one of said ends to guide the otherend automatically into overlapped relation therewith when said ends cometogether.

3. A shove-down sectional tire cover comprising a pair of sections forcovering the tread of a spare tire, a third section pivoted to the firstsections to thereby form a unitary structure, the third section beingresilient and having a normal diameter which is less than that of thetread of the spare tire, and being of. such length that, when in, propertread covering position, it subtends an angle in excess of 180, wherebyto resiliently hug the tread of the tire, the first sections having endsarranged to overlap when the cover is in proper tire protectingposition, and means associated with one of said ends to guide the otherend automatically into overlapped relation thereto when said ends cometogether, the other end of at least one of said first sections beingoverlapped by the resilient section, whereby the first end of said onesection may be swung away from the tire about said other end as acenter, thereby spreading the ends of the resilient section so that thecover may be readily removed from the tire.

4. A tire cover comprising mutually hinged tire covering sections, oneof said sections being resilient and formed to hug the tread and beingof such length that it subtends an angle in excess of 180 when in propertread covering position, the other section having an end which isoverlapped by the first section, whereby, upon swinging the othersection about said end as a center, the ends of. the first section willbe separated and the cover readily removed from the tire, and means forlocking said sections together as a rigid body as they assume theirproper tread covering positions.

5. Tire cover construction comprising three parts having curvaturesapproximating that of the tread of a spare tire, means for pivotallyconnecting one of said parts to the other two parts to thereby form aunitary structure, said one part being resilient and having a normaldiameter which is less than that of the tread of the tire, and being ofsuch length that, when in proper tread covering position, it subtends anangle in excess of 180, whereby to resiliently hug the tread of thetire, and means for connecting said other parts together to therebycompletely circumscribe the tread when the cover construction is inproper tire protecting position.

6. Tire cover construction comprising three parts having curvaturesapproximating that of the tread of. a spare tire, means for pivotallyconnecting one of said parts to the other two parts to thereby form aunitary structure, said one part being resilient and having a normaldiameter which'is less than that of the tread of the tire, and being ofsuch length that, when in proper tread covering position, it subtends anangle in excess of 180, whereby to resiliently hug the tread of thetire, and means for securing said other parts in overlapped relationwhen the cover construction is in proper tire protecting position.

7. As an article of manufacture, a spare tire cover comprising aplurality of overlapped tread engaging parts disposed over the outerperiphery of the tire and connected together for relative movement, oneof the parts having an end under another cover part in engagement withthe tire tread positioned to serve as a bearing point on the tire treadabout which said one part may be swung to enable both it and said otherpart to be removed bodily from the tire.

8. As an article of manufacture, a spare tire cover comprising aplurality of overlappedtread engaging parts disposed over the outerperiphery of the tire and connected together for relative movement, oneof said parts having an end engaging the tire tread under an adjoiningend of the other part so as to afford a bearing point on the tire treadas well as being connected to the other part in such a manner as toserve as a camming lever for prying said other part off the tire.

ARTHUR P. FERGUESON.

